DW BUREAU / Rewari (Haryana) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday laid the foundation stone of an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here and said healthcare is an intrinsic part of the country's development agenda. He also dedicated to the nation or laid the foundation of multiple development projects related to urban transport, healthcare, rail and tourism worth nearly Rs 9,770 crore. Modi visited the exhibitions put up at the venue. Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister and Gurugram MP Rao Inderjit Singh, Haryana BJP chief Nayab Singh Saini and senior party leader Biplab Kumar Deb were among those present. To be built at a cost of about Rs 1,650 crore, the AIIMS-Rewari will be developed on 203 acres of land in Majra Bhalkhi village. Officials said the residents of Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh will greatly benefit from the affordable tertiary healthcare facilities to be provided at the AIIMS-Rewari. It will have 720 beds, a medical college with 100 seats, a nursing college with 60 seats, an AYUSH block with 30 beds, and residential accommodation for the faculty and staff members, etc. Apart from AIIMS-Rewari, Modi also laid the foundation stone of the Gurugram Metro Rail project which will be developed at a cost of about Rs 5,450 crore. The project, with a total length of 28.5 km, will connect Millennium City Centre to Udyog Vihar Phase-5 and merge in the existing metro network of Rapid Metro Rail Gurugram at Moulsari Avenue station near Cyber City. Modi inaugurated a newly built Anubhav Kendra Jyotisar, Kurukshetra. This experiential museum has been built at a cost of around Rs 240 crore, spans over 17 acres, and will vividly bring the epic narrative of the Mahabharata and the teachings of the Gita to life. Jyotisar, Kurukshetra is the sacred site where Lord Krishna imparted the eternal wisdom of the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna. Talking on the buzz about "Modi's Guarantee", the prime minister said the guarantee of establishment of AIIMS at Rewari was fulfilled with today's foundation stone laying. The prime minister assured that he will inaugurate the facility as well. He said this will ensure better treatment and opportunity to become a doctor for the local residents. Modi highlighted the vision of Viksit Bharat, underscoring the importance of the health sector in propelling the country towards that vision by 2047. He said infrastructure development also entails better healthcare facilities and added healthcare is an intrinsic part of the country's development agenda. "AIIMS Rewari will not only cater to the healthcare needs of Haryana but will also create jobs for the youth and provide them with opportunities to pursue medical education," he said. Modi said 15 new AIIMS and more than 300 new medical colleges, including one medical college in each district of Haryana, were approved in the past 10 years. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, in a post on X, termed the foundation stone laying of AIIMS in Rewari by the prime minister as "a historic day for Haryana's healthcare ecosystem" and said that "it will immensely benefit the people of Haryana as well as of neighbouring states by ensuring access to great quality and affordable healthcare". Speaking on the occasion here, Chief Minister Khattar thanked the Centre for fulfilling a long-cherished wish of the people of Rewari for an AIIMS in the region. Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh underlined the importance that the government has given to enhance infrastructure development in the country and said the same push is also being given in creating and upgrading health infrastructure which is evident in the commitment to expand the network of AIIMS in the country to 23. Modi underlined that the "double-engine" government is striving to make Haryana a developed state and create new employment opportunities in every sector, be it technology or textile, tourism or trade. There is double engine government here for the last 10 years and Haryana is ahead in implementing various schemes for welfare of the poor, he said, adding Haryana is making rapid progress in the agriculture sector and on industrial front. The southern Haryana which was once kept behind in development is moving ahead rapidly, he further said. The prime minister said the development of Haryana is necessary for fulfilling the vision of "Viksit Bharat". The entire world is eager to invest in the country and Haryana, he said. The prime minister also laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple railway projects. These include doubling of Rewari-Kathuwas rail line (27.73 km); doubling of Kathuwas-Narnaul rail line (24.12 km); doubling of Bhiwani-Dobh Bhali rail line (42.30 km); and doubling of Manheru-Bawani Khera rail line (31.50 km). He also dedicated to the nation the Rohtak-Meham-Hansi rail line (68 km), which will reduce the travel time between Rohtak and Hisar. Before 2014, on an average for the rail sector, Haryana used to get a budget of about Rs 300 crore, which is now nearly Rs 3,000 crore, he said. He mentioned new railway lines for Rohtak-Meham-Hansi and Jind-Sonipat and the doubling of lines like Ambala Cantt-Dappar and said that it will enhance ease of living and ease of doing business while benefiting lakhs of people. And this difference has come in the last 10 years, he said.
(editor@dailyworld.in)